Mexican Street Cornbread

This easy Mexican Street Cornbread is loaded with corn, cheese, a creamy topping, and a spicy kick. All of the delicious flavors of Mexican street corn come together in this savory cornbread.

Mexican Street Cornbread

Every year for cinco de mayo I like to put a new spin on Elote (Mexican Street Corn). This yeah I am making this Mexican Street Cornbread. This cornbread is similar to regular cornbread but with a savory kick. It has cheese, spice, and a little creaminess. If you like cheesy, spicy corn and you like bread, this this dish is for you.

If you are interested in what I made for previous years, check out this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad and these Mexican Street Corn Nachos.

Elote Cornbread

Elote is a Mexican dish made with corn on the cob. The corn on the cob is grilled over fire and then topped with a creamy sauce, cotija cheese, chili powder, and fresh cilantro. I love these flavors so much so I tried incorporating it into cornbread and I love how it came out.

Whenever I make cornbread, I prefer a slightly more savory version with cheese and jalapeños. I think corn goes best with savory flavors so I rarely make my cornbread sweet.I thought the flavors of Mexican street corn would go so well with cornbread so I wanted to create a fun dish that I could bring to all my get togethers and BBQs this summer.

I use a pre packaged corn bread mix to make this a really simple recipe. The most popular cornbread mix is by Jiffy, but since I shop at Trader Joe’s a lot, I bought their version. My cornbread mix called for 1 egg, oil, and some milk. Instead of using milk I used sour cream since sour cream (or crema) is a popular ingredient in Mexican Street Corn. I thought about using mayonnaise to substitute the egg and oil, since that was mayonnaise is essentially, but I feel like that was going too far. There is no way to truly know how much egg would be in that portion of mayo, and I wanted an exact measurement for the egg since it is an important ingredient.

What do you need to make Mexican Street Cornbread?

• Cornbread Mix – I like using a boxed mix to make things easier. Look at the boxed mix to see if you need additional ingredients to make the mix. My mix listed egg, oil, and milk. I ended up substituting the milk with sour cream and a little water.
• Cotija Cheese – This Mexican cheese is similar to parmesan.
• Cheddar Cheese – Shredded yellow cheddar is preferred.
• Jalapeno – For a little kick. You can use as little or much as you want.
• Sour Cream – I used this in the cornbread mix and also to make my creamy topping.
• Mayonnaise – This is used to make the creamy topping.
• Tajin – Tajin is a popular chili lime salt seasoning.
• Garlic Powder – You can also use real garlic, but I find that the garlic powder dissolves into the creamy sauce better.
• Cilantro – For the topping

How to make Mexican Street Cornbread

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 15oz cornbread mix
• 1 egg needed for the cornbread mix
• 1/2 cup oil needed for the cornbread mix
• 1/2 cup sour cream needed for the cornbread mix
• 1.5 – 2 cups shredded mild yellow cheddar .40 lb was the weight
• 1 cup grated cotija cheese
• 2 tbsp diced jalapeño i used half of 1 large jalapeño
• 1/3 cup water use between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup
• 1 tsp tajin chile lime seasoning

Creamy Sauce Topping

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp tajin
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup grated cotija cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 

• If you are using a boxed cornbread mix, check the box to see what other ingredients are needed to make the corn bread. The brand that I bought asked for 1 egg, 1/2 cup of oil, and 3/4 cup of milk. If your cornbread mix does not ask for oil, do not add any. Instead of 3/4 cup milk, I used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup water plus a little extra water to get the right consistency. It ended up being about 1/3 cup of water.
• Add all of your ingredients for your bread in a big bowl and mix. Once it is fully combined, add it to a greased 8×8 baking dish.
• Bake at 350F (or the temperature it says on your cornbread mix) for 30-35 minutes. Or until the edges are brown and you are able to poke a toothpick in the middle and it comes out dry. 
• While it is baking, make your topping. Combine sour cream, mayo, tajin, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Add to a squirt bottle if you have one so that you can drizzle it on top once the cornbread cools slightly.
• Once the cornbread is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. 
• Garnish the cornbread with chopped cilantro, cotija cheese, creamy sauce, and additional tajin.